Blood Bowl PlayBook :: Elves :: Elf Strategy

Elves are sort of a funny team. Some people argue that they’ve stolen the place of HEs and improved upon it somewhat. Of the four elven races in FUMBBL, the Elf roster has the greatest discrepancy between the positional players and the linemen. As a rule of thumb, they are best at a fast passing game and defense is best played aggressively, trying to cause and capture turnovers wherever possible.

Strengths

Cheap lineelves are a very nice addition to the Elf lineup. They allow a coach to keep a full roster slightly more easily than most similar teams. The throwers are a steal at 70k and the Blitzers and Catchers are outstanding – almost as good as Wardancers, given the slight difference in cost. Catchers with Dump Off and/or Leap are incredibly difficult to stop on offense. Blitzers are essentially Dragon Warriors with an additional, highly-effective skill for 10k extra.

Weaknesses

Those cheap linemen die fast! AV 7 is less than a DE or HE lineman and MA 6 is less than a WE lineman. That puts them on the bottom of the heap – until you consider their price.As it is, they are as easy to injure as WE linemen but without that extra MA which makes it quite easy to rack up a few extra quick scores. WIth relatively flimsy linemen, the bulk of the SPPs ends up on the positional players, which then unbalances the team unless the coach is careful in distributing his skills.

In-game Tactics

(Largely copied from the HE strategy, as the basic notes are similar to start with.) As with all Elves, the focus must be on the ball. You will often find that a team you force to worry about possession will be less concerned with mincing your team!

I find that using Catchers, especially those developed as safeties, to pressure the ball retriever on defense is effective this way. Safeties often start out wide, to avoid getting caught up in mid-pitch brawls, but close enough to the LoS so that they can advance into the opposition half to apply pressure. Don’t waste team rerolls on GFIs unless your players can apply a tackle zone on the ball carrier, or better yet, blitz them. Catchers also make good sweepers; I like to keep one deep in my own half on defense, should the opposition make a break for the endzone. Sometimes this player will have to advance towards the play, in which case I try to drop back another player.

With Av 7, unlike HEs or DEs, your team can struggle trying to employ man-marking in defense. Attrition simply makes things harder. Against cages, if your players are knocked down, try to go prone next to the ball carrier if possible, using the Blitzer’s Side Step – if that player doesn’t move, you can stand up and blitz him next turn (or block with a Jump Up player), even if it is a 2 dice against block (keep a reroll handy for those).

Always try to keep one player in scoring range when defending; if the ball pops free, you can get the ball to him and score before the other team can recover. The exception would be in last-ditch defending late in the second half, especially if you have a 1 TD lead, in which case scoring again is not as important as preventing the equaliser.

Development

Linemen: Block is a useful skill on every lineman. Kick is enormously valuable on at least one, too, and after that, it is very much up to personal preference. Some go for the Dodge/Side Step/ Tackle route, others will select whatever skills are most required by the team at the time, like Strip Ball, Tackle/Diving Tackle or whatever. Any double on a regular lineman should be used for Guard or Dauntless, to help out against stronger teams.

Blitzers: You only have two, so consider carefully what role they should play; typically, they are the spearheads of the team. They will probably be the first players on the team to get Tackle. Dodge/Tackle/Shadowing/Pass Block is an irritating combination, and Leap/Strip ball for cage-busting; these are just two of the many ways to take an Elf Blitzer. Dauntless is usually a better choice on doubles than Guard, as Guards get hit a lot, and don’t do much blitzing. Jump Up is particularly effective with their Side Step skill and possibly Strip Ball, as they can threaten a ball carrier in a cage even if they are knocked down. With the highest AV on the team and Side Step, they can mark a receiver or a corner of a cage quite well, hopefully providing an opening for a turnover.

Catchers: Catchers can fill a number of different roles in the team, and with a maximum of 4, you have some leeway in moulding them in diverse ways. Block, Dodge and perhaps Side Step are useful to all of them, after that, you can develop them accordingly; as dedicated scorers with Sure Feet, Sprint, Leap and Jump Up on doubles; as auxiliary blitzers, with Tackle, Strip Ball, Leap and Dauntless on doubles; or as safeties, for harassing ball-carriers, throwers and catchers, with Side Step, Pass Block, Tackle and Shadowing. Nerves of Steel already helps out with interceptions while in tackle zones, and thus is very good in combination with Pass Block, providing a nasty surprise on defence. Try giving your catcher Dump Off on doubles. If he gets blitzed, he can throw (generally accurate, as he’s ignoring TZs) to another catcher (who also ignores any TZs your opponent might throw on him, as well) and watch your opponent sputter, as he’s already used up his only blitz for the turn. Stat bonuses are priceless on Catchers; +Strength Catchers typically become frightening blitzers.

Throwers: The usual combination of Accurate and Safe Throw applies; also Sure Hands or Catch, depending on where he is positioned at the start of a drive. Alternatively, you can run with the Throwers, using Block/Dodge along with Accurate/Dump Off/Safe Throw/Nerves of Steel(dbl). Strong Arm is an alternative to NoS. Some coaches develop an offensive thrower (lines up only when receiving the kick-off) and a defensive one (used either when kicking only, or both receiving and kicking), with different skill combinations. An agility bonus is nice, and usually negates the need for Accurate too.

General: Players with Strength bonuses are prized – Block/Dodge/Tackle are good choices on normal rolls for these players, Mighty Blow or Guard on a double. Players with Agility bonuses are also good – Block/Dodge and Block/Strip Ball/Leap are good, Sure Hands has potential for gathering the ball in multiple tackle zones, probably best if you already have Strip Ball players in the team, and Leap/Guard(dbl) gives you a an assist anywhere you need it.

New tactics

I'm constantly looking for new Blood Bowl tactics! If you have any tips or tricks for the greatest ball game in the world, or you have come across an interesting article on the web, don't be shy, drop me a line! Please mail me at christoph@bbpb.de with your opus or URL.

Of course, the rights to the text and/or graphics will remain with their author.

Imprint

Recommendation

When sports agent slick Fullbelly spots down-at-heel adventurer Dunk Hoffnung bringing down his lunch with a slingshot from a hundred paces, he's sure that his search is over. Dunk puts down his sword and picks up a football. He should have stuck fighting to dragons... (more...)

Disclaimer

This web site is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited.